bedouin
noun
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Arabic-speaking desert nomads of the Middle East are known as bedouin. Ethnically, the bedouin are identical to other Arabs. Bedouin social rank is determined by the animals they herd: camel nomads are most prestigious, followed by sheep and goat herders, and finally cattle nomads. Traditionally, bedouin migrated into the desert during the rainy season and returned to cultivated areas during the dry season, but since World War II some national governments have nationalized their range lands and conflicts over land use have arisen, and many groups have settled. Most, however, retain pride in their nomadic heritage.
Examples of bedouin in a Sentence
Jim Dobson, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2021
There's a state-of-the-art DJ station and a many-cushioned bedouin tent—both of which attest to the tastes of the boat's owner, Cirque du Soleil cofounder Guy Laliberté (who has since sold Tiara).
—Darrell Hartman, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Aug. 2021
What about the bedouin in the desert regions of North Africa?
—Rhett Allain, WIRED, 9 July 2019
Before the discovery of vast natural gas reserves off Qatar's coast that crowned the small Gulf peninsular country with skyscrapers, bedouin roamed the desert and depended on meat and milk from camels to survive.
—Author: Ibrahim Saber, Tom Finn, Alaska Dispatch News, 20 June 2017
The documentary is based on letters and communiqués — Tilda Swinton is the voice of Bell — that follow her from the aristocracy and drizzle of Yorkshire, England, to the scoured, arid expanses of tribesmen, Bedouins and sheikhs.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, latimes.com, 8 June 2017
Previous travelers—Nabateans, bedouins—had scratched inscrutable symbols onto the stones.
—Saki Knafo, Smithsonian, 5 May 2017
In one corner, Bedouins glide on camels across a void of Sheetrock, while, in another, Sherlock Holmes grapples to the death with Professor Moriarty on the lip of a high shelf.
—Southern Living, 1 May 2017
Bedouins have increasingly identified with the struggles of Palestinians, including their fight against Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
—William Booth, Orange County Register, 18 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Bedouin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bedouin. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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bedouin
noun
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